A Lost Key
by thefairywrites
Summary: A peaceful day at the Dragneel household, soon interrupted by Lucy's panic. Can Natsu survive the morning, and will Lucy be able to find what she's looking for?


The salmon-haired man rested on the couch in the living room in his and Lucy's home, watching his pregnant wife rifle through their belongings. She was currently in search of something, and Natsu had no idea what that something was—Lucy would not tell him, and he sure as hell was not about to bug her about it for fear of garnering her pregnant wrath. So there he sat, trying his best to stay as far out of her way as possible, but still keeping a close eye just in case.

"Oh god, oh god, where is it!?", the blonde woman repeated several times, rummaging through one of the blanket boxes next to the couch Natsu was sitting on.

Natsu had opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, several blankets had been thrown in his direction—panicked mumbling following suit. Irritation began to bubble inside of Natsu as he tried his best to dodge the projectiles being pitched at him. It was when he was nearly nailed in the forehead by one of the over-sized paperweights that Lucy _insisted_ on having—even though he still had no idea as to why they needed them—that he had just about had enough. He grabbed the large glass paperweight and slammed it back onto the coffee table in front of him, almost cracking the table in two with the force. "That's enough!", he shouted, anger laced in his voice, "What in Mavis' name are you looking for, Luce!?"

The sudden vocal attack startled the woman out of her search for whatever it was she was looking for. She stared at him, hands splayed naturally on her swollen belly. A frown made its way to her face at her husband' s words, and she crossed her arms over her stomach with a harrumph, "Why should I tell you?"

Natsu gripped his knees tightly, digging his fingernails into his skin in an attempt to take out most of his frustration. He groaned and closed his eyes for a few moments, taking in deep breaths to compose himself down before responding as calmly as possible, "I just want to know what you're looking for, Luce. You've been destroying the house all morning just to find it—Normally that's my thing!"

He heard the sniffles first, followed by the salty smell of tears. She mumbled something, quiet enough that only a trained ear could possibly hear it. If it was anybody else they probably would have dismissed it as nothing, or they may not have heard it at all. Still, he wanted her to speak clearer, just to be sure he heard her right. "Luce, could you repeat that?", he asked steadily.

"I said—", she started quietly, "—I can't find my key…"

Natsu's gaze softened knowingly, "Which key is it?"

He had a feeling he knew which key, and if he was correct, then he knew _why_ she was so upset. "Aquarius…", she answered, and with that the reasoning was solidified.

However, when Lucy had looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, she had not expected him to be laying on the couch laughing. "Why the hell are you laughing, Natsu!? This is serious!", she pouted.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just—", he started with a snicker, taking in as much air as he could, "—You've been looking the entire morning, and I know exactly where it is!"

Lucy's jaw dropped, "What!? Where the hell could it possibly be!? I've checked the entire damn house!"

Her eyes followed as Natsu's chuckling form stood from the sofa and walked across the room to the bookshelf by the front door. He lifted his hand to the top shelf, pulling a book off first and throwing it to the floor. "Hey, don't do that! I had those neatly organized and—", she cut herself off at the golden glint she knew all too well.

The dragon slayer wrapped his hand around the key and walked it back over to his wife—grabbing her wrist and placing it into her open palm. "How did you know where it was?", she asked, a confused look etched on her features.

"You were reading late into the night yesterday, and when you finally came to bed you must have accidentally grabbed the key from the table along with the book without realizing it. Thus, how it ended up on the top shelf for no reason.", he ended with a smile and sat back down on the couch, "You know, you really should pay more attention when you handle Aquarius' key, she is definitely not someone you want to misplace."

Lucy growled at this, "Why didn't you say anything about it when it happened!?"

Natsu cocked an eyebrow at this, as if his wife had just said something totally arbitrary to the topic at hand, "Well you never asked, weirdo. I sort of figured you meant to do it, so I didn't say anything."

"You are such an idiot.", the woman mumbled, clutching the golden key tightly in her hand—she didn't want to have to go through Tartarus all over again, and she would make sure that would never happen ever again.

Natsu's laughter rang throughout the air, his rich cackles causing Lucy to almost crack a smile at this. He grabbed her wrist once more, and pulled her down to the couch to sit with him, resting his hand on her belly and kissing her forehead.

"But I'm your idiot.", he breathed out serenely, not wanting this moment to end.

He stared out at the mess that was their living room, debating whether or not to get up to clean it, opting to stay wrapped up in his wife's warmth instead. The cleaning could wait, and chances were it would. For now, he wanted to treasure this moment while he had it.


End file.
